My first experience through BashBunks was one I surely will never forget. While interning for the professional lacrosse team, The Chesapeake Bayhawks, I was in need of a place in the area to stay for the summer; however, living in Indiana, it made it hard to find a suitable place in Annapolis, MD.

Colin Corcoran ’17 with Captain Allen Murphy ’76 on the Kelly IV

Over the course of my stay with Captain Murphy, or “Murph” as his friends all called him, not only was I able to get to know him and his passion for Wabash, but also his passion for sailing. Murph took me out sailing a couple of times around the Chesapeake Bay which was an amazing experience.I was able to learn some basics of sailing, as well as some sailing history while having tons of great conversations about Wabash now, and when he had attended the college. Each morning before work, we would sit down to breakfast and a cup of coffee while being able to admire the beautiful sites of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Along with this he would take me to shore aboard his dingy so I could get to my car and then head to work. While staying with Murph, I had the opportunity to see many different sites of Annapolis and was able to meet a number of his friends that he had met over the years through his travels who were all also extremely kind to me. Through the generosity of Captain Allen Murphy ’76 and Wabash Career Services’ BashBunks program, it was made possible for me to find proper housing for the summer without having to rush to find a place before my internship began, while staying aboard the Kelly IV.

Without Captain Murph and BashBunks, my transition into the internship would have been very hectic trying to find a place to live and meeting people in the area. I owe endless amounts of thanks and appreciation to Murph for being so generous towards me throughout the week. BashBunks introduced me to a man who I now consider a lifelong friend and I look forward to staying in contact with him throughout his next sailing adventures!

I spent this past summer picking cocaine, methamphetamines, marijuana, and bath salts out of the US mail system. Before this past summer, I’d spent hours browsing testimonials of people who had interned with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Alcohol Tabaco and Firearms (ATF), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), who I was interning with, and the responses varied greatly: “They’re making me file. ALL SUMMER.”, to “Kiss me. I’m home.”

Gray ’15, a Philadelphia native, explores opportunities in his hometown and sees a new side of it

The USPIS Philadelphia Division was a 40 minute commute that I was glad to take. My average day was spent doing things like this:

Doing surveillance on a woman in North Philly, who’d been stealing identities in her apartment. We took license plate numbers, circled the house for possible routes of escape (in the case of a warranted search), and speculated on her daily schedule.

Working with drug dogs and their handlers to sniff out (no pun intended) packages in the mail.

Documenting, weighing, and packaging the quarter million dollars’ worth of drugs that we (the interns) helped find.

Browsing the evidence room (I almost cried when I got to hold a Romanian AK-47).

Hearing perspectives from federal agents ranging from 23 year veterans to people that started the year before.

On more extraordinary days, I got to sit and talk to Federal Judges, District Attorneys, Secret Service Agents, Air Marshals (We had a shooting competition. Naturally, I lost.), Postal Police, members of the Philly Police Department, DEA Agents, K9 units, State Troopers, and members of ATF. I got to participate in and help facilitate federal agent training and in the process, almost beat a veteran in a shooting competition and got arrested four times in felony vehicle stops which included accusing an Inspector of racial discrimination. I also got a course in using riot shields, how to correctly use a firearm while holding the shield, and I took part in a virtual simulation on responding to calls as a law enforcement officer (I saved a young woman then killed multiple innocents). The simulation left my hands trembling, hands sweating, and my heart cold and pounding. I tried to imagine the real thing.

I did not have to imagine for long. When cocaine or methamphetamines were found, we did what they called a “controlled delivery.” The drugs would be delivered as planned but with heavy surveillance. For this, we were allowed to ride along equipped with bulletproof vests. We got to watch as the package was delivered, then seconds, minutes, or even hours later, the door being blown off the hinges by a ram and the pouring in of federal agents armed with MP-5s. After, we were allowed to watch on-site interrogations and search the house for additional evidence. We also had the pleasure of being cursed out by locals for “entering without warrants” and “racial discrimination” (this is where my training came in handy).

As exciting as all of this was, it was fairly hopeless too. Drugs, cocaine especially, were sent, over and over, to the same rough neighborhoods, to which we came to “control delivery” and whisk away peoples brothers, husbands, and sons. I had the privilege of working with George Clark, a Postal Inspector in the Philly Division. Clark gave me an outlet into another side of law enforcement. He allowed me to assist him in the investigation of a man who had, over the course of three years, stolen nearly half a million dollars from banks like PNC, TD, and various others. He’d also managed to involve the post office by buying money orders with the stolen money. He accomplished this feat with a pen, legitimate checks he’d gained from vulnerable people, and the power of persuasion. We spent about a week pouring over his criminal record and reports we had of his past thefts. We found his favorite place, favorite day, favorite time, and waited for him across the street in an undercover car. Sure enough, he was there at 7:02 AM buying money orders with stolen money.

“Nick, get in there and get his description.” Clark said.

“What?”

Last time I heard, the guy was looking at about a quarter century in prison. The internship was over before we could snag him.

This internship began, where all great things begin: Career Services. I attended the Law Enforcement Lunch they hosted before that summer and went to speak with two ladies from the USPIS based out of Indy. Students had swarmed the FBI, DEA, and Secret Service, but these two Inspectors did not have a single taker. They were very friendly and much more flexible than the other agencies. I called their supervisor, Ken Miller, who told me they weren’t accepting interns that summer. I was disappointed.

“Guess I’ll just go home this summer.” I said.

“Where’s home?”

“Philly.”

“You know what”, he said, “I know a Scott Guretse in Philly, an Inspector. Here’s his email, check it out.”

Long Pham ’14: This summer I am doing an internship up here in Lowell, MA with Jim Ray ’95 at his startup FASTPORT, thanks to the funding from Lilly Small Business Internship Fund. FASTPORT is a small business focusing on technology-based trucker recruitment, and is pretty much the very first such company in the trucking industry. One particular advance that we possess is our web-based application for truckers to get rid of all the paperwork and reduce the processing time from a few weeks to 48-72 hours.

However, our web application was meant to be much better and faster than it is at the moment; and that is where my work comes in. Generally, my work at FASTPORT involves assisting Jim on rebuilding the entire web application from scratch, to create a better, faster and much more efficient system for the business.

I would like to emphasize the importance of what I have learned here at FASTPORT. In fact, the most important lesson that I have learned over the last 10 weeks is not about programming; instead, it is all about work ethics and entrepreneurial attitude. For over 10 weeks, Aeknoor Cheema ’15 and I have been working to get the business up and running. Aeknoor was helping Colin Dunlap ’12, our Sales & Marketing manager, on building business and marketing plans, while I assisted Jim on all the programming stuffs. Since FASTPORT is only a startup with 2 employees and 2 interns, it is obvious that we all have to work really hard in order to make it work. Late-night and weekend work shifts are very common at FASTPORT. Even though the workload is always tremendous, I never felt unmotivated, thanks to Jim’s wonderful mentorship. When we stay late for work, he often takes us out to dinner, and we discuss our workplan over delicious wings and beers. Jim also shares stories about his ventures, his successes and failures, and always concludes with some sort of life-worthy lesson. These experiences make me feel fortunate for having chosen this internship for my summer.

Certainly, I cannot forget to mention the programming part of the internship. Even though I had studied several courses on Computer Science and was indeed fluent in Java and Python, my knowledge did not help very much. Jim has guided us towards .NET programming using Visual Basic/SQL, which I never learned. Thankfully, he was a great teacher, who would spend time making me instructive videos and guidelines, as well as providing working examples for me to study from. After 10 weeks of ‘studying’ web programming with Jim, I have come a long way from knowing nothing to being able to construct a complete web project on my own with an infinitesimal amount of help. All this work also makes me realize that knowledge means nothing unless you really use it in fieldwork.

To conclude, I would just like to thank Career Services and Jim for offering me this wonderful opportunity. All these hardworking late nights and weekends have taught me the importance of working ethically with a positive attitude, regardless of your position in the company. More importantly, they affirm one simple truth to me: Wabash Always Fights, in school and beyond.

Office of Public Affairs Interns with Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napalitano

Andrew Dettmer ’15: First let me take a moment to thank the Wabash College Political Science Department, and the Coons-Cassel committee for providing me with my grant for this summer. If not for their hard work year around, financial assistance, and the support they’ve given me in the classroom this internship would not have been possible.

I am now approaching the end of my ten week summer internship in Washington, D.C. and I am shocked by how quickly time has flown by here at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Public Affairs! It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in an office with a security officer handing me my badge and explaining the security protocols and procedures at our complex. Now as it ends, I find myself wrapping up projects and documents I’ve spent the whole summer working on, and preparing to clean out my desk and turn my badge back in. Also, I’ll miss spying on all of you. Just kidding, we don’t do that.

I’ve often heard horror stories from interns with other government agencies about having little to do, and only being given busy work. The exact opposite has been true for me, thanks in part to the departure of several full time employees whose shoes needed to be filled, but due to budget cuts had to be pushed off. But with their departures, came opportunities for the summer interns.

One of the best things I’ve learned in my position is how to create, manage, and maintain a website that represents 240,000 employees and deals with so many complex and different issues for the public. Despite having no experience doing anything like this, my boss fully trusted that I could figure it out. Like a true liberal arts student, I threw myself into the task and learned on the job. Now, I’ve completely overhauled the Department’s Website satisfaction and response system, and helped initiate several Website improvements that have helped the American people use our website and interact with their government better. Pretty cool.

I’ve learned how to use programs like Google Analytics, IdeaScale, Foresee ACSI, and Drupal CMS; programs not usually found on a Political Science major’s resume, which only increases my skill set for when I leave Wabash. And while the practical skills I’ve learned have been immeasurably valuable, the other functions I’ve helped and observed have given me a more in depth view of how our country responds to all types of disasters and attacks. Thirty seconds from my desk is the National Joint Information Center, a room which was the center of the U.S. government’s response to everything from Hurricane Sandy to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, or the Boston Bombing to Sandy Hook. Sitting in on calls with people we see on the news every day, and participating in drills on every type of scenario you can imagine has given me a lot of confidence in our government’s ability to weather any storm.

The people here have been great, and I am saddened that my time here is ending. The skills and experiences they’ve given me will and have shaped my career path. However I feel I’ve made the best of the summer, even taking the time to meet up with my old bosses, Eric Eversole ‘94 and Laurène Gros-Daillon at the Military Voter Protection Project. Eric was kind enough to give Carter Adams ’15 and I his tickets that night to the National’s game, and we had a blast. And of course, countless trips to museums, monuments, and famous eateries has capped off what has been an amazing summer.

Casey Shipley ’14: This summer, I was fortunate enough to land an internship working for Nantucket Bike Tours in Nantucket, MA. Thus far, it has been an unbelievable summer working for entrepreneur Jason Bridges ‘98, who started this company three years ago, and Carl Rivera ’13. Courtney Nemeth, who is the co-owner of NBT, and Tadhg Hannon ’15, who is also interning for the summer, make up the rest of our team. At Nantucket Bike Tours, we give tours to people all around the island helping them experience Nantucket by showing them amazing beaches, endless historical sites, and breathtaking landscape.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect before I came out to Nantucket, but everything Ihave learned here has by far surpassed my expectations. Being a bike tour company, giving tours is obviously a major part of my internship this summer, but it is far from theonly thing that I have done and learned here over the last couple of months. Not only do I give tours, but I have also had the chance to participate in all of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to make a small business thrive, which all entrepreneurs aim to do. There is so much that goes on in a small business, and as most entrepreneurs know, it is hard at times to stay on top of everything on the agenda with limited employees. Not only was I continuously trying to learn the history and layout of the island in my first few weeks, but I had to juggle all of that while helping with all of the business side of the company. I was involved in the company’s accounting, marketing, business planning, and public relations. This wide-ranging mixture of business experience I have been gainingwill be extremely beneficial to my future career.

Aside from the vast variety of hands-on business experience I have been gaining through this internship, I have also learned the “little things” that will help me be successful in whatever I do down the road. Jason and Carl have helped me grow so much as a person by helping me develop the necessary character traits and teaching me intangibles that would help make anyone more successful. They are both always stressing to me about things like leadership, details, and awareness. These traits seem so obvious, but it actually takes a lot of work to develop them. Jason has been giving me literature to read on leadership and how to influence people. This is very important at Nantucket Bike Tours because every single group of customers is different, so it is imperative that I have the social and communication skills to be able to effectively meet and gain the trust of people from all different backgrounds. While this is obviously very important while giving tours, these skills I have learned will without a doubt make me more successful down the road by helping me interact with a wide variety of people effectively. I have had numerous chances to work on these skills this summer outside of the tours through the various volunteer jobs we do within the Nantucket community. We have volunteered for the ACK clean team, the Nantucket Film Festival, and the Nantucket Comedy Festival. These have all provided excellent opportunities to work on these communication and leadership skills.

We are extremely blessed at Wabash to have a very strong and dedicated group of alumni. To not take advantage of the opportunities they can present, and the knowledge and wisdom they can offer, is a mistake as a student. Internships through Career Services and the Small Business Internship Fund are the perfect opportunity to connect with alumni and really build your business skills, as well as leadership and character traits that will expand your communication and social skills. All of these skills will help make you successful in any career path that you choose.

I would like to thank those who make the Small Business Internship Fund possible. The beauty of having an internship for a small business is that I have been exposed to every aspect of the business. It has really helped me diversify and enhance myself by developing a wide range of skills that I will use in whatever career I go into after I graduate next spring. From accounting and marketing, to social and communication skills, Jason and Carl have taught me more in a short amount of time than I ever expected to learn while I was out here. I look forward to my remaining weeks here on the island, and I will definitely continue to take advantage of this opportunity to work with great alumni and gain as much knowledge as I can from them to continue to grow as a person.

Tadhg Hannon ’15: Hey everyone, my name is Tadhg. Let’s be friends. I am spending the summer working for Nantucket Bike Tours. In case you were wondering, Nantucket is an island, and it’s part of Massachusetts…NOT Rhode Island. I’ve had an incredible experience working for this small business. When I first heard about NBT, I wasn’t sure what to think. This is certainly an unconventional internship, but I couldn’t be happier that this opportunity came along. I’ve learned so much from the people at NBT, customers on tours and everyone I’ve met on the island. Learning how to deal with all kinds of people is an invaluable skill, and striving to provide a great experience for every customer forces me to remain engaged and aware at all times. This experience has helped me to mature. Even small things like buying my own groceries have helped me realize how far I’ve come, and how much growing up I still have to do.

As for Nantucket Bike Tours, the company is in its third year of operation. NBT is co-owned by Wabash Alum Jason Bridges and Courtney Nemeth (she’s really cool, but for some reason didn’t go to Wabash, not sure why). They are great and are even nice enough to let me live with them. The business is continuing to grow, and we pride ourselves on offering the best way to experience a unique place like Nantucket. The great thing about NBT is it allows me to connect with an extremely diverse group of people, and I am forced to try and give each one of them a positive experience, even when they might all be looking for different things out of their tour. I am also learning about what goes into running a small business, which basically entails everything. Answering phones, accounting and sweeping the floors are all required of small business employees.

Finally, a big Nantucket thank you to the Small Business Internship Fund for making this possible, and to Jason, Courtney, Carl and the rest of NBT for putting up with me.

Jeff Bell ’14: Setting about the task of synthesizing these last two months of my life is quite an intimidating feat to attempt, but I will try to do justice to the spectacular experiences that I have found around every corner of my time in California, as I’ve taken part in a job provided by the Small Business Internship Fund. Before I dive into a fuller explanation of my time here and how it has been spent, I find it necessary to thank those whose generous contributions made my time in this internship possible (although it would seem there are more people deserving of thanks than I have space to write). First, thanks to those whose generous contributions to the SBIF allow for interns like myself to travel the country in pursuit of furthering their education through workplace experience. Your faith in us is humbling and your generosity is inspiring. A hearty thanks must also be extended to Scott Crawford for the tireless hours that he pours into this program, ensuring that it is successful for the numerous Wabash Men who utilize it. A final warm thank you must be extended to all the friends, family, alumni, and coworkers who I have encountered along the way these past two months. Although there are far more of you than I can list here, I will always be indebted to you for your never-ending support and interest in the continued education and development offered by my time in California.

I think it important for my reader to first understand that I have been a born and raised Hoosier for my whole life. Never having lived outside the state of Indiana for more than a month at a time, the idea of sojourning west to California to take part in an exotic and exciting internship inspired a mixture of both curious fascination and nervous apprehension. The opportunity that had been offered to me by trustee Paul Woolls was a two-month tenure in California. The first month was to take place in downtown Los Angeles where I would be spending time in his Insurance Litigation firm working in different capacities with the goal of learning more about the legal field. The second would require that I moved north to the Napa Valley area for a month working in his beautiful Vineyard and Winery. Now to the average Indiana native, each of these locations brings a certain romantic notion of excitement and joy that can only be brought by adventure and travel. So needless to say, I was overwhelmingly thrilled to be given the opportunity to move out West and continue honing my talents and pursuing discovery of the career that I wish to spend my life doing.

Plunging into both the legal side of this internship and the slightly more exotic experience of winemaking in Napa Valley, I was expected to display a tremendous versatility in the tasks I was able to perform. Bouncing back and forth from being a clerk filing legal documents to hand tending the vines of a vineyard required an aptitude for quick learning and a certain curiosity that would keep the steady stream of new tasks from being overwhelming and daunting. Here the liberal arts education I have received at Wabash College shone through and gave me a special familiarity with learning a variety of tasks and quickly mastering different forms of work. As an English major, gaining workplace experience has been a critical part of developing my education beyond the great literary works and many hours of writing that fill the curriculum of such students at Wabash. Internships like the one I have taken part in are a critical part of the growth and development of any Wabash Man, but in particular those whose major might not be deemed “practical” by some individuals in this country.

While I sit and write this blog post I keep looking out the window to my right and breathing in silent awe of the gorgeous Napa Valley landscape. My employer, Paul Woolls has graciously lent me the guesthouse that sits atop Mt. Veeder and overlooks a certain portion of his estate vineyard. It is perhaps the most gorgeous part of the country I have ever seen and the peace and tranquility offered by this location stands in stark contrast to the fast paced, vibrant, and oftentimes overwhelming downtown Los Angeles lifestyle. Getting the opportunity to experience each of these styles of life all while gaining valuable work experience in two drastically different fields is humbling when I stop to reflect on all that it has done for my growth as a person, citizen, and as a Wabash Man. I now have one and a half weeks before I start the long drive back to Indiana, and in that time I will savor the thrill of living alone in a splendid area filled with new people, places, and adventures. Although my heart misses my home and family there is something to be said for the thrill that comes from exposing oneself to unfamiliar experiences. Thank you again so much to all those whose tireless efforts enable these opportunities to benefit young men like myself.

At the Beverly Hilton with Chelsie Kent, the Power of Youth award winner. She raised $12,000 for a freshwater well.

Ray Stark ’14: Life has moved from 0-60 as soon as I arrived in Los Angeles to start my internship with the Thirst Project. The internship began with the biggest jet lag of my life. As soon as I arrived in Indiana (returning from a five month study abroad program in Brazil) it was already time to get back on a plane, only two days later, headed for Los Angeles.

When I arrived in L.A., I spent the next two weeks working hard, consistently for 10-14 hours per day in preparation for our biggest event of the year, the 4th annual Thirst Gala. The Thirst Gala is our biggest event every year held at the Beverly Hilton, where we rent out the ballroom and invite our most prolific supporters in hopes to gain large donations to help build wells.

Even though I currently work with education and outreach for the Thirst Project, I received a lot of responsibilities with event planning/production in weeks prior to the event. I helped our communications intern manage the live stream during the hour of dead time during dinner. I helped by timing the arrival of celebrities for their interviews during this dead time, as well as managing logistics of table seating and food orders. While this was really amazing, my favorite part about working for the Gala had to be getting to “act” in one of videos shown during our awards ceremony.

In case you were wondering, the Gala was an amazing event and it went off without a hitch. We ended up raising $200,000!

Even though I have gotten to do some incredible things through this event and the internship, I want to make it clear that it wasn’t the anticipation of these experiences that brought me to L.A., rather, it was the Thirst Project’s Mission. Ever since I heard about their goal to end the world water crisis back during Sophomore year, specifically their goal to provide the entire nation of Swaziland with fresh clean drinking water, I knew that I had to be a part of this mission in some capacity. I can now honestly say that I’m a pivotal part of our goal to provide nearly 1 billion people with access to safe clean drinking water.

While this is a dream come true, the point is that you, the reader, can also make this a reality. The crazy statistic that always gets thrown around the office is that for $25, one person can be provided fresh clean drinking water for a life time. Even if you can’t afford to donate, just spreading the word could be enough to convince someone else to donate, thus saving another’s life.

It is this purpose in my work that has made the work so fun and rewarding I believe. It is the reason that I chose this internship. Ever since I was young, my father always said that if you find a job that you go to and love doing it, then you will never have to work a day in your life, and with the Thirst Project, I have found that love for my job. I can honestly say right now that I’m excited to get up in the morning to work for this cause and will continue in any capacity that they allow for me to help in.

I’m excited to see what the upcoming weeks have in store for me and the Thirst Project as I get into the “nitty gritty” of my Internship. My main projects as the Education and Outreach intern will be the expansion of our school tour and development of a week-long curriculum about the human water crisis.

I just wanted to thank The Wabash Callings Program and Career Services for making all this possible.

Taylor Neal ’14: Everyone at Wabash has heard stories about how amazing our graduate network is, but only recently did I fully understand the extent of that reality. During the Celebration of Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work in January, I presented a poster over some research I had conducted with Dr. Porter a couple summers ago. Just before my fellow researchers and I took down our poster towards the end of the hour, we were approached by Mr. Khurram Tahir ‘01. He looked over our poster, asked a few questions, and discussed our research with us. Then, in the single greatest deus ex machina of my Wabash career (and possibly of my entire life), he offered to set us up with an internship at a company he invests in.

Three months later, thanks to the Small Business Internship Fund, I found myself arriving in San Francisco at a small biomedical startup company called PROFUSA. PROFUSA seeks to develop a sensor technology capable of continuous glucose monitoring. My original assignment at the company was to assist the synthetic chemists in their day-to-day operations, but as time went on, I acquired more diverse responsibilities. By my third week, I had been tasked with designing and creating a coating for the sensors. My coating was required to be biocompatible and mechanically durable, but it also had to dissolve easily after injection into the body.

That task is now complete. I have since moved on to other projects involving the composition of the sensors themselves. In just nine weeks, I have worked in a full-blown organic synthesis lab; operated a CT scanner, an SEM, a high-frequency ultrasound, and an autoclave; attended and analyzed a 6-hour live pig study; and even created my own batch of sensors. My project this week was to help the company cut costs on ballistic gel, which is used to test injection methods. I have just finished optimizing a formula for homemade gel which will save the company roughly $400, and next week I will conduct my own independent in vivo study through a contact at Duke University. Needless to say, no two days are alike at PROFUSA.

Aside from the great diversity of my work, one of the greatest benefits of working with a small company is the visibility of all of its operations. PROFUSA currently employs only twelve people, and after the first two weeks I knew all of them on a first name basis. Most of my lab work involves modifying our finished product, but I share the same lab space with the people who synthesize the very organic molecules that make up the sensor technology. Every day I am exposed to the various facets of the company, and because of that I am able to see clearly how each individual project contributes to the overall goal. There is a tremendous sense of camaraderie, and more importantly, everyone here is fully invested in the company’s success. A small triumph in one area motivates the rest of us to work even harder, and any problems that arise are quickly and decisively dealt with by the conjoined effort of the entire team. It has been a truly inspiring experience so far, and I couldn’t imagine a better use of my summer as I prepare to apply to graduate schools.

Preparing to climb San Pedro Rock

When I’m not working, I often spend my time exploring the city and its mountainous outskirts. I live in the Mission District, which is known for its exceptional Mexican food. I’ve walked through the nearby Daly City, hiked to the top of San Bruno Mountain, dove to the bottom of Lake Merced, and even climbed San Pedro Rock in Pacifica. The collective experience has been without any doubt the best summer of my life, and I couldn’t be more thankful to PROFUSA, Mr. Tahir, Career Services, and of course Wabash for making it possible.

Jon Laird ’15: Going into my internship I had very little knowledge of how a law firm was run and what the day to day life of a trial lawyer entailed. When I first connected with Patrick Becherer ’65, who is a trial lawyer for the firm Becherer Kannett and Schweitzer, I knew that by interning for his law firm my knowledge of law would expand exponentially. Patrick has specifically practiced civil litigation law for over 40 years. His ability to teach and educate a novice legal intern like myself has enabled me to become much more informed of the legal process. Mr. Becherer is a man that, to this day, still reflects upon his liberal arts education from Wabash and credits Wabash for his success as a lawyer because of his ability to constantly learn and adapt to new cases.

From day one I was thrown into helping the attorneys with their cases. The first case I was introduced to, forced me to use my critical thinking and problem solving skills to analyze accounting invoices for a case that involved a collision accident. I had to make sure that there were no fraudulent numbers in the invoices that could cause the case to swing the wrong way. The hardest part of my first project was comprehending the documents that I was reviewing for my analysis. The law terms were like a foreign language to me and I found myself reading the documents a few times to ensure that I had comprehended the material. I am excited to see how this trial settles knowing I had a very small integral part in the case.

Throughout my internship at the firm I have mainly contributed in research and analysis of cases. I have participated in investigating and exploring potential cases for the attorneys at the firm and broke down the information so the lawyers had a baseline of information to expand on for their case. In interning at the law firm for little over a month now, I have noticed that being a lawyer you must stress the attention to detail. Every document must be read and fully comprehended because the information is vital. No matter how tedious the document may seem it must be read completely. In examining depositions and writing up reports on them I fully understand the importance of detail because there is no room to skip a page and lose out on key information for the summary of the case.

Lastly, one of the most interesting and exciting experiences of my internship was when I had the opportunity to attend court with Mr. Becherer. It was a settlement for a case in which Patrick was representing a company that was being sued over a “trip and fall,” situation. During the settlement process the plaintiff attorney would first be alone with the presiding judge providing to her the amount they expect to be paid. Then the defense attorneys would meet individually with the judge to place their bid. It essentially was a bidding war of negotiations. Eventually this settlement did not settle and is scheduled to go to trial later this month.

Through my experiences at the law firm with Patrick Becherer I have grown to cherish what Wabash College has to offer. With the generosity of the Small Business Internship Fund I had the opportunity to expand and grow on my understanding of the law process. Wabash College truly has been a blessing for me in growing my education and honing in on my skills to become a better man. The experience I have had this summer strengthened my ability to overcome challenges and will help me through my future endeavors.